# Captain MSC Zoe not guilty of losing North Sea containers **URL:** \ **Category:** Professional Mariner Forum\ **Created:** [January 15, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030 "2021-01-15T12:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/1 "2021-01-15T12:01:26Z")
The captain of the container ship MSC Zoe will not be prosecuted, the Public Prosecution Service said. During the night of 1 to 2 January 2019, the container ship lost an enormous load of containers in the sea, north of the Wadden Islands, in bad weather. The captain cannot be accused by criminal law, there is no question of guilt or intent, the Public Prosecution Service concluded after investigation. "Research by an expert at TU Delft has not established exactly what caused the jettisoning of so many containers. It is plausible that the ship hit the seabed. That is insufficient to blame the criminal consequences for behavior of the captain. Furthermore, an investigation has shown that the containers on board were secured in accordance with regulations ", the OM said. In retrospect, there are doubts about the captain’s choice for the route along the Wadden Islands, despite the bad weather, the OM said. However, the judiciary concludes: “The captain was able and allowed to make the chosen short sailing route”. ---
**Author:** ![Heiwa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/heiwa/32/1054_2.png) [@Heiwa](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Heiwa)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 5:48am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/2 "2021-01-16T05:48:13Z")
Personally I think the ship - at too high speed - collided with a solid wave and that container securing arrangements failed due to the impact. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/3 "2021-01-16T12:10:40Z")
> [@Dutchie](#): > > "Research by an expert at TU Delft has not established exactly what caused the jettisoning of so many containers. It is plausible that the ship hit the seabed. This seems like a reasonable conclusion on the face of it. If the experts can’t figure it out after the fact it would be difficult for the captain to judge beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/4 "2021-01-17T21:28:11Z")
> [@Dutchie](#): > > It is plausible that the ship hit the seabed. I am not sure about this for the following reasons: - Hitting the sea floor is a violent event and must have been noticed by the crew. As far as I know there are no such reports. - Divers who searched for (bottom) damage in Bremerhaven reported that no damage was found. - If the VDR was able to detect and record such events there was no mention of such an occurrence. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/5 "2021-01-17T21:43:46Z")
The way I read that is that the master might be to blame if the Zoe did in fact touch bottom and it is plausible that it did. However that alone is insufficient to be able to blame the captain. > "Research by an expert at TU Delft has not established exactly what caused the jettisoning of so many containers. It is plausible that the ship hit the seabed. The fact that it is only plausible is not sufficient to blame the criminal consequences for behavior of the captain. ---
**Author:** ![Heiwa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/heiwa/32/1054_2.png) [@Heiwa](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Heiwa)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/6 "2021-01-17T23:53:38Z")
It is quite easy to verify if a ship has ‘hit the seabed’ - I call it grounded - i.e. put her in a dry dock and have a look. It seems the owner arranged for a dive survey in port but it is not sufficient. Anyway, it seems all agree the ship impacted something causing a shock that damaged the container lashings and I think it was a steep wave. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/7 "2021-02-01T21:59:01Z")
MSC pays €3.4 million compensation for overboard containers: > **[Shipping company pays €3.4 million compensation for overboard containers](https://nltimes.nl/2021/01/29/shipping-company-pays-eu34-million-compensation-overboard-containers)** > > Shipping company MSC will pay 3.4 million euros in compensation for the consequences of its ship Zoe losing 342 containers in the Wadden area two years ago. After long negotiations, the shipping country and Ministry of Infrastructure and Water... ---
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/captain-msc-zoe-not-guilty-of-losing-north-sea-containers/58030/8 "2021-02-01T22:41:30Z")
That small amount cannot be true seen the havoc that took place at sea and on land. and the damage will still be going on for the years to come. That’s a real bargain for MSC. They obviously have better negotiators and lawyers than our ministry…